Marvel's What If…? season 2 review: A fun, familiar return

Season one of Disney+’s What If…? was a somewhat rare bit of general joy from Marvel Studios—not much more than good times and Easter eggs for MCU fans who like the idea of seeing familiar characters and storylines remixed into something fresh. So it’s fitting the show’s second season is airing around the holidays (premiering on December 22, new episodes drop through December 30). It features a Die Hard-inspired Christmas episode in which Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan turns into a Hulk, and yes, they do call him Hulk Hogan, because this series remains a nice little gift for the Marvel zombies out there…though the actual Marvel Zombies from season one only get a little cameo this time.

There is a little sticking point, though, and it’s one that was also present in What If…?’s debut run: This animated “anthology” of one-off Marvel stories, about what would’ve happened if things had worked out differently, is still not proper. Near the end of season one, a version of Ultron managed to collect the Infinity Stones and tried to take over the entire multiverse, forcing various alternate-universe heroes from previous installments to team up and defeat him as The Guardians Of The Multiverse (even though they were clearly modeled after The Avengers, with a Thor, a Black Widow, a Doctor Strange, and a Captain America, but we’ll get to her later).

The same sort of thing happens this year, but it’s a little more character-based and not as obvious as “a new villain shows up.” It’s still not necessarily a bad thing, but it does stick in your teeth. It’s a cool idea on paper, and consistent with the ongoing structure of the MCU (individual stories eventually meshing for a team-up story), but it’s hard not to wonder if it would be more fun without that constraint. On the other hand, some stories and characters you can’t let go of, as acknowledged by Jeffrey Wright’s The Watcher in episode one. The all-seeing observer of the multiverse narrates he “doesn’t like sequels,” but he simply has no choice but to make an exception for one woman: Season one GOAT and secret all-time great MCU character Captain Peggy Carter.

Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter was introduced in in an episode that took on Captain America: The First Avenger, asking “What if…?” the super-soldier serum had been given to Peggy instead of Steve Rogers. The episode, naturally, ended with her being transported from World War II to the present day, and, also naturally, this season’s sequel outing offers a new take on Captain America: The Winter Soldier that is a lot of fun for people who believe that to be the MCU’s high point (also, Peggy and Black Widow kind of flirt a lot, so…).

Captain Carter is the star of the show, appearing in three of the nine episodes, but What If…? also makes the bold choice of introducing a new character created for the show with only a tangential connection to anything from the movies. Named Kahhori, she’s a young Mohawk woman who gets cosmic superpowers. The episode she debuts in is solid, so it’s clear What If…? is proud of and wants her to be a big deal on par with Captain Carter. However, it’s going to be a little weird if she never appears in any other stories, inside or outside this show. Reminiscent of how absurdly super-powerful Emilia Clarke’s character became at the end of Secret Invasion. It’ll be weird if we never see her again and equally weird if we do. (And this is something that might not even be worth questioning if these were all self-contained stories, by the way.)

In season two, most of the episodes are all alright, save for one that is a carryover from season one and feels a little overdone because of it. The season premiere is a real highlight, with Nebula joining the Nova Corps. (the space cops from Guardians Of The Galaxy) for a heavily Blade Runner-inspired noir adventure, and the second episode ponders what would happen if the world needed an Avengers team in the ‘80s (so you get younger versions of people like Hank Pym, T’Chaka, Mar-Vell, and a still-brainwashed Winter Soldier).

The voice acting can still be a little stiff sometimes, mostly from actors reprising their roles from the movies who don’t seem particularly well-suited to this gig, but others seem born for it (Jon Favreau has tons of fun here). The writing is stronger than before, with solid quips throughout the season—assuming that’s a thing you like, and if you like Marvel then it probably is—and a couple of sweet nods to MCU canon. Wright’s Watcher is also used to pretty great comedic effect, losing his mind when he fails to foresee something happening or getting embarrassed when a character can hear his pessimistic narration.

What If…? hasn’t lost any of its sense of fun, and its bizarre MCU mash-ups are cleverer than before. But the show’s gradual reveal of an overarching storyline is starting to become too predictable. After two seasons, the structure of pairing unexpected characters and drawing out a fun conclusion seems well-established. It’s a good format, but it can end up making things feel a little rote. It’s nothing that a Marvel fan should turn their nose up at just yet, but it is more of a “try to act surprised” holiday gift than a “how did you know?!” holiday gift.

What If…? season two releases episodes on Disney+ from December 22 to December 30